>Would it not be true that "the formalism of dissipative systems" applies to
only
>a subset of dissipative systems?
Yes, I suppose so. The formal mathematics of dynamical systems only captures a
part of our intuitive concept of attractors.
>It might be expecting too much to try to get
>it to explain the full set of dissipative systems....
Yes, but autopoietic systems are a quite important subset of dissipative
systems. It should be an expressed goal to find the direct connection. The
problem is that the language of autopoiesis is substantially different from
the language of dissipative structures.
>I need, though, to fully
>understand what is meant by "the formalism of dissipative systems".
This field has its own language with its own definitions. That is what I mean.
Onar.